


The Serial Lady-Killer

by pinn



Category: due South
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-24
Updated: 2010-01-24
Packaged: 2017-10-06 15:32:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinn/pseuds/pinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>So I sidled up beside her, settled down and shouted, "Hi there."<br/>"My name's Stewart Ransom Miller, I'm a serial lady-killer."<br/>She said, "I'm already dead," that's exactly what she said</i> - Barrier Reef by Old 97's. For the <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/rayk97s/profile"><img/></a><a href="http://community.livejournal.com/rayk97s/"><b>rayk97s</b></a> challenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Serial Lady-Killer

_Excuse me, do you have a map? I keep getting lost in your eyes._

Halfway through his junior year, Ray broke up with Stella. He hadn't meant to do it. All he had said was that it was either him or her parents. He hadn't expected her to choose her parents, but once she did, Ray had no choice but to carry out his threat.

A few weeks later, one of the pep squad girls, Bonnie, came up to him in the hall and asked, "Is it true you broke up with your girlfriend?"

By that point, Ray had realized two things. One, he was an idiot, and two, Stella wasn't going to return his calls anytime soon. So he nodded and said, "Yeah."

"Good. What are you doing this weekend?" Bonnie smiled and that was that.

They dated for almost 6 months, and it was probably the easiest thing Ray had done in his whole life. They never fought about their parents, their friends, or anything, really. Ray never had to tell her what he was feeling or what he was thinking. If he just wanted to sit and stare at Bonnie, she was okay with that. If he wanted to rant and rave about the Cubs bullpen, she was okay with that too.

Bonnie was the complete opposite of Stella.

It was almost a relief when Stella finally called and, without even bothering to hide her jealousy, said, "I hear you've got a new girlfriend."

Ray broke up with Bonnie the next morning.

 

***

 

_Nice shoes. Wanna fuck?_

The summer after Ray's freshman year of college was probably the best of his life. Yeah, he had dropped out of school, and his pop wasn't talking to him, and while he didn't really have much of a plan, he did have Stella and he could work anything out from there.  
That was also the summer Stella kept asking him and bugging him and wondering if he had ever thought about guys. The first few times, Ray just laughed at her and twirled her hair around his finger which always distracted her.

But she kept asking, and one night, drunk and a little high, Ray finally broke down and said yes. In his defense, it was the late seventies and he was horny all the time. If he wasn't thinking about guys, then he just wasn't thinking. Stella had smiled and said, "I knew it!"

A few weeks later, long after Ray had forgotten the conversation, they went out with some of Stella's friends from school. Halfway through the night, right about the time Ray started feeling pretty good, one of the guys, Mike, sat down next to him.

"So Stella says you're curious." Mike slid his hand up Ray's leg.

Ray stared at him, trying to figure out what he was talking about. When it finally clicked, he turned around to find Stella. She, however, was currently making out some friend of hers named Trixie, and while Ray might have been a little slow, he wasn't an idiot. Stella had been interested in girls all along and she had been trying to get him used to the idea.

He turned back to Mike and smiled. "Yeah."

Mike stood up, grabbed Ray by the wrist, and took him out through the back exit of the bar. Once they were outside, Mike pushed Ray against the wall and started kissing him. It was different than kissing girls, but different in a good way, and Ray's hands started sliding up Mike's back towards his spiky hair that Ray's palms had been itching to rub all night.

Pulling back from him, Mike winked and dropped to his knees. Ray's brain temporarily shorted out at the sight, but it started working just as soon as Mike wrapped his lips around Ray's cock.

That night, in the dark nasty alley, Ray could have sworn that he saw a blinding white light as Mike gave him what might have been the best blowjob of his life.

By the time Ray stumbled back into the bar, Stella had already left with the girl. He found out later that she had been curious and all she needed to satisfy that curiosity was a one-night stand that she'd only tell Ray about when she was trying to torture him.

Ray apparently had a lot more curiosity than Stella because, six weeks later, he was still getting blowjobs from Mike in dark alleys behind bars.

Then one night as Mike licked a path up Ray's neck, he said, "I'm going back to school next week."

"What?"

"School starts in two weeks." Mike said. "When do you go back?"

Ray leaned his head against the wall. For the first time in years, he didn't have anywhere to be at the end of the August. He was supposed to have come up with a plan by now but instead, he had spent the whole summer getting drunk and having sex. It hadn't exactly sucked, but now that everyone else was moving forward and Ray was still in a holding pattern, he felt like he had been punched in the stomach. He forced himself to smile as he said, "Next week."

 

***

 

_Those earrings would look great on my dresser._

Ray doesn't remember the name of the first woman he slept with after the divorce. He remembers the color of her hair and the shape of her body, but that's it.

He likes to tell himself that he did know her name when they were together. Ray likes to believe that he called out the right name at the right time, but deep down, he knows that he didn't. He said Stella's name because the next morning, when the woman was scurrying around his apartment, gathering her clothes, she didn't once make eye contact with Ray.

He worked a lot of overtime after that, trying to forget how much of an asshole he had been and trying to forget Stella. He figured as long as he kept moving, nothing could catch him.

Maybe he was right about that; Ray didn't know for sure. All he knew was that when he finally stopped, he had a new name, a Mountie for a partner, and the realization that there was nothing like being unable to acknowledge your marriage to help you get over it.

 

***

 

_Hi._

"I don't get it." Ray announced.

Fraser glanced at Ray as he stepped around a fire hydrant and asked, "What don't you get, Ray?"

"These women,' Ray threw his arms out wide. "All these women throw themselves at you. How do you do it? What do you say that gets them all hot and bothered?"

"Well, Ray, I don't mean to get them hot and bothered as you say I do. When I meet a woman, I say hello and introduce myself. I don't give my full rank, of course, but I do mention my profession. After the introductions are complete, the woman usually chooses to continue the conversation with me."

Ray stopped at the entrance to the diner. "So basically you say hi to them and then they throw themselves at you? That's all?"

"More or less." Fraser motioned toward the door, "Do you need help with that?"

Ray shot him a dirty look and pulled the door open. "After you."

"Why are you asking me about this, Ray? Have you met someone?" Fraser sat down in their regular booth and arranged his silverware before looking up at Ray.

"No, but, you know, sometimes I think I wouldn't mind meeting someone." Ray glanced at the menu and tried to focus on the words that kept swimming in and out of focus.

He didn't have to look up to see Fraser wrinkle his brow. "I see."

Before Ray could ask what that meant, their regular waitress came over and took their orders, flirting with Fraser the whole time. Ray sat back and watched. It had to be Fraser's freaky soap or something, there had to be something in it that attracted women. There was no way they fell all over themselves just because of a simple hello.

'Course, Ray had jumped off more buildings and been in more fights than he was comfortable admitting because of a simple hello, so maybe Fraser was on to something.

"Ray. Ray. Ray."

He blinked, and both Fraser and the waitress were staring at him. Fraser looked all confused and worried while the waitress just looked impatient. "Uh, I'll take a cheeseburger and fries."

The waitress snapped her gum and walked away. Fraser leaned forward and said, "You know, Ray, I've observed many women looking at you. In fact, I'm sure that Detective Brown over in Vice would be delighted to get to know you better."

"Nah, she's just pissed 'cause I busted her brother for stealing a car a couple of years ago."

"What about the aide in Petty Crimes?"

"She thinks I stole her lunch once. She's right, I did, but she still hasn't forgiven me."

"Oh." Fraser leaned back against his seat. "Well, Ray, I'm afraid I've run out of suggestions."

"That's all right, Frase. I got you and the wolf. We'll be our own pack, and everyone else can just go screw themselves."

"Language, Ray." Fraser warned but he looked pleased, and Ray smiled. It was true, he'd like to meet someone, sure, but he didn't need to. He had a pretty good life right now, and there was no guarantee that meeting someone wouldn't fuck everything up.

At the very least, now he knew how Fraser operated, and Ray was pretty sure he could make it work for him if the time ever came.


End file.
